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Sunday, July 14, 2013

Maine wineries 1 – Cellardoor Vineyard, the Barn

It is a quiet Sunday. The air is hot and it quelches any human (and feline) activity. A light breeze in the tree brings a welcome, short-lived reprive from the 90s temperatures. I finally caught myself today and instead of creating another adventure plan of what to see in my just begun vacation, I made good on my plans to stay put today. Summer makes me want to experience as much as possible, because summers in Maine is barely July and August, if we are lucky.

Yesterday was another adventure day, a vineyard and wine tasting tour of Maine. My friend V. was ready when I announce tentative plans for the summer of visiting Savage Oakes Friday night, and said “what are you doing TOMORROW?”. So, off we went, Saturday morning. There is at least 15 wineries “Maine wine path” but we stuck wisely to 2 ones for one day.

Any good journey started with typing in destinations in the car navigation system, and be lead by some friendly male voice to new adventures… After driving on Route 1, and grabbing a tomato grueyere tart at Chase’s Daily in Belfast, we ventured off Rt 1 in Lincolnville and found ourselves on narrow streets through rolling hills, groomed cape cod houses and arrived in 15 minutes at this gem of a barnyard wine tasting place. The Barn is an original barn from the 18s century, recently renovated into a luxury wine tasting location, with vistas, decks, tours, and good wines, nothing short of a vineyard of Napa Valley proportions --- minus the actually vineyard, since Cellardoor imports all their grapes from Washington State, but has a vineyard for the atmosphere. The barn part of the building kept its rustic flair with a 2-story wine tasting bar area and store, and an adjacent, modern restaurant style area for wedding receptions, paella cooking classes and business functions. A store area combines both, selling all the necessity for a decent wine tasting, good cheeses from local stores like “Eat more cheese” in Belfast, platters with grapes, cheeses and nuts, even Cellardoor wine sorbets.

After taking in the spectacular set-up we set down for the wines. To be honest (and snobbish) I did not expect that much from Maine wine but I was curious how they really tasted. The first 4 wines are free when tasting but if you want to try 4 more, it is $5. With about 25 to choose from it was difficult to stick with 4, and I did find a few nice ones, especially the light whites. I bought a viognier, and I think I keep it for special dinners.